Apparatus for mingling solids and fluids to treat one with the other



Sept. 18, 1951 w. J. ROWE 2,568,661

APPARATUS FOR MINGLING soups AND mums TO TREAT ONE WITH THE OTHER Filed Dec. 6, 1947 6 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 2,568,661 FLUIDS 4 Sheets-She et 2 Sept. 18, 1951 v w. J. ROWE APPARATUS FOR MINGLING SOLIDS AND TO TREAT ONE WITH THE OTHER Filed Dec. 6, 1947 FLUIDS Sept. 18, 1951 E w. J. ROWE APPARATUS FOR MINGLING SOLIDS AND To TREAT ONE WITH THE OTHER 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 6, 1947 XVI/MM MV/JMW.

7 Sept. 18, 1951 w. J. ROWE 2,563,661v

APPARATUS FOR MINGLING SOLIDS AND mums TO TREATONE WITH THE OTHER Filed Dec. 6, 1947 '4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FY? i IWM Patented Sept. 18, 1951 unirso STATES ersNT aF-Fl-CE APPARATUS FOR MINGLING SOLIDS FLUIDS TO'TREAT ONE WITHiTl-IE OTHER I William J. Rowe, Chicago, 111. Application December 6, 1947, Serial No. 790,152

' l-Claim.

This invention relates to the treatment of solids in the form .of granules, powder, fiber, and so -'on, with gaseous fluids and vice versa, and has for its principal object to produce. intimate commingling and moving contact one with the other.

Generally speaking, this is accomplished by making streams .of solids and gaseous fluids intersect and flow through each other, thereby commingling intimately and effecting continuous flowing, sweeping treatment. Specifically, a stream of :air, gas, or'vapor is made to intersect and *flow through, and be iflowed through, by a stream of granules, powder, or fiber. Preferably, this is done by using a uniform flow conveyor tor .the stream of solids and sending the fluid across and through it by way of louvered openings .in the conveyor casing. Thus, the solids may be transported and elevated While being treated with, or treating, a,fluid or fluids.

Thewell known :Redler conveyors are ideally suited for handling the solids in atfluent stream of substantially uniform density with sufficient relative movement of the individual elements of the stream to insure full and intimate contact of all parts of the solids with the fluids. But other conveyors will .be found suitable, particularly :for some conditions.

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic-elevation of one form of apparatus embodying the invention;

a transverse section of Fig. 1 taken on the line 2--2 Fig. 3 is adiagrammatic elevationof another apparatus-embodying :the invention;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating one way of mounting and adjusting the louvers; 7

Figs. 5 and 6 are sectional views taken on the lines5l5 and 6-9 ofFig. 4; I

Fig. 7 is -a perspective'view of one of the hinge devices used for mounting th louvers;

:Eig. 8 is .a diagrammatic elevation of still another form of apparatus embodying the invention; and

Fig. 9 is a transverse section taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

The conveyor shown in Fig. 1 is composed chiefly of a casing, generally indicated by [0, forming a conduit for the material and a series of spaced, flexibly connected transporting members H propelled and traveling along the conduit and cooperating with it to move the materialina continuous mass of substantially uniform :density and moving through the material to effect a substantially uniform exchange of pelled along the conduit.

It is characteristic of Redler conveyors to'elevate and convey by an en ,masse action which moves pulverized, granular, small lump, or flaky or fibrous materials horizontally, vertically, on an incline or around bends in a dust-tight casing, which is very compact, and permitting large tonnages .to be handled within small space. is no friction between the casing and the series of transporting members, as the material being conveyed and elevated completely surrounds those members and forms a cushion between each flight and the casing. But the clearances are very accurate, so that all the material within the carrying run is moved along in ,a substantially uniform column. The constant flow of additional material coming into the casing from the feed points prompts the material further along in the carrying run of the casing to be moved at a substantially constant speed.

For particular information about the construction and operation of such conveyors and various forms in which they may be made suitable for use .of .this invention, referenceis made to Catalog No. of Stephens-Adamson Mfg. Co.,

Aurora, Illinois, copyright 1947, and the Reissue Patent to .Redler .No. 18,445, April 26, 1932; original No. 1,697,963, January 8, 1929.

For-similar informationas to another conveyor, reference is made to Book'No. .1975 of the Link- Belt Company, 307 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, copyright 1941, and the patent to Sayers No. 2,235,854, March 25, 1941.

In order to intersect the stream of .solid material in the conveyor with a stream of gaseous fluid, suitable openings or passages through walls of the casing [0 are provided in connection with a source of fluid under pressure. In this instance, and preferably, the openings are made by replacing certain walls, or equipping them, with louvers l2 and [3 associated with conduits i4 and I5 and manifolds I6 and I1. As illustrated in Fig. 1, there are two supply conduits and associated manifolds delivering to the passages formed by the louvers I2 from which the gaseous fluid passes into and through the stream of solids l8, and thence out through passages formed by the louvers I3. The intermediate portion of the apparatus is shown broken away in Fig. 1, and is intended to indicate that any number of supply conduits and manifolds may be associated with the casing of the conduit to supply gaseous vapor in a manner and condition suited to the particular treatment. Thus,.it is possible to supply gaseous vapor at one temperature and pressure at one stage of the treatment and another temperature and pressure at the other stages of the There treatment, and of a sort to suit almost any range of conditions required for drying, heating, or otherwise treating the solids with the gaseous vapor, or vice versa.

In the case of drying, one material might be best treated by a comparatively high pressure of moderately heated air at the first stage of treatment and lower pressure of higher heated air, or of some other gaseous fluid at another or other stages of the treatment.

Bearing in mind the characteristic en masse flow and the substantially uniform density but continuous shifting of position in the stream of solids, it will be apparent that the gaseous fluid entering through the passages formed by the louvers l2 will enter into the stream of solids, intermingling with the particles, and will flow through it transversely and lengthwise and in every other sort of direction, thereby eifecting a commingling and a mutual intimate'co'ntact of all particles and surfaces of the solids with moving gaseous vapor.

In this and other apparatus, the locations of the discharges, here shown at P9, and charging or feeding stations indicated at 28, 2|, and 22, are matters of choice, depending on what is sought to accomplish and the characteristics of the material and treatment.

The lower or boot part of the conduit 23 may be used to introduce a liquid into the system to treat or be treated by the solids and gaseous fluid.

Fig. 3 shows another form of apparatus including an elevating run 24, a descending run 25, a boot tank 26, a feeding station 21, discharges 2'8, 29, and 39, and alternative feeding stations or charging stations 3|.

The elevating and descending runs of the casing are provided with louvers 32 and 33. The

gaseous fluid is supplied by conduits 34, 35, and

36 to manifolds 31, 38, and 39. It passes through th stream in the elevating leg, then through the stream in the descending leg, and out through stack 40. In this and a variety of other forms of the apparatus, the solids can be made to travel in a closed circuit, here shown at 4|,- which is a characteristic arrangement, for the solids are being used with or without a liquid in the boot to treat the gaseous fluid.

The louvers will be made in various forms suited to the conditions and to the characteristics of the conduit easing. As here shown, the casing has flat walls, and the louvers are shown to correspond. In many instances, it will be preferable to have the louvers adjustable, and one arrangement for that purpose is shown on Sheet 3, Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7. Here, the louver blades 44 are equipped with hinge members 45 by which they are hinged on pintles -46 along their lower edges to swing inwardly and outwardl with respect to the corresponding walls 48 of the casing. The upper edges of the louver blades 44 are loosely connected to angle bars 49 by bolts 50, and the angle bars have strikers and rollers 52 adjacent to their lower ends to cooperate with cams 53 on an arm 54 by which the louvers may be thrown from the solid-line position in Fig. 4 through various positions to the dottedline position shown in that figure. In this way, the louvers may be adjusted and set to correspond to the angle of repose of the solids to be treated and the effect of the stream'of gaseous fluid. Thus, in some instances, the louvers l2 in Fig. 1 might be at a greater angle to the vertical than the louvers 13, for the pressure 4 of the gaseous fluid at the right of the column would tend to keep the material within the column, while the pressure of the fluid escaping through the louvers l3 would tend to lift the material out of the column. Also, the adjustment of the louvers at one side of. the column different from that at the other may be used to alter the pressure effect of the gaseous fluid. Cleanin the louvers is most easily efiected in some instances when they are in the dotted-line position shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 8 shows another apparatus suitable for the invention, which has a horizontal run 56, an elevating run 51, both equipped for the treatment of materials, and an inclined run 58, which in this instance serves merely as a return.

As best shown in Fig. 9, the horizontal run has a bottom wall 60 and a top wall 6| of the casing through which transporting member 62 travel to convey the solid material 63. The gaseous fluid is supplied through a conduit 64 and escapes through a conduit 65. In many instances, it will be suflicient to insert a partition or bafile 66 depending from the top wall 6| of the conveyor casing to effect the passage of the gaseous fluid through the stream of solids. But, in, other instances, it will be helpful to provide the side walls with, or replace the side walls with, louvers B1 and 58 after the fashion illustrated in Fig. 9. They will extend lengthwise for a considerable distancefor example, such as shown in Fig. 3- and the conduits 64 and 65 will connect with extendedmanifolds 10.

In this same arrangement shown in Fig. 8, the elevating run is provided with louvered walls II and 12 for gaseous fluid supplied by the conduits 13, 14, and I5, and taken away by a stack 16.

These several illustrations, together with the references to catalogs and patents, are deemed sufficient to illustrate the principle of the invention and how it may be applied.

The apparatus may be used to treat air, gases, or gaseous vapors as they pass' through the stream of solid materials which have been heated or cooled, and/or impregnated with or wetted with liquids or other matter to be brought into intimate contact with the gases.

The apparatus also has a wide application as a dust collector to remove solids and fumes from process air, flue gases, and such like.

An important advantage of the invention lies in the ability ,to subject the solid materials to various temperatures, to gases or gaseous fluids of various temperatures and pressures, and to varythose conditions at different stages of treatment. One of the very important'applications of the invention in the field of drying and cooling and combined drying and cooling. In these operations, large capacity and high eiiiciency will be obtained with very simple, low cost and low maintenance apparatus. The constant forward movement of the solid material with continual shifting and rearrangement of the particles thereof affords ever-changingnew paths and presents new surfaces to the gases or gaseous fluids in the intersecting stream's. This is accomplished while moving the material-with a minimum of abrasion and within an enclosure where the atmosphere can be entirely controlled.

y The speed of the conveyor can be varied to vary the treatment, and the arrangement of the louvers can" be altered to provide a longer or shorter treatment under a higher or'lower pres-j sure or temperature.

The drying of materials that tend to lump and harden can be varied as they proceed along the conveyor to preserve just the sort of surface conditions that are best suited for the treatment.

The variety of forms of which the invention is susceptible i so great that no attempt is here made to give more than illustrations suited to selected conditions.

The forms shown in Figs. 1 and 2, while embodying the appropriate general characteristics, are especially suited for use with solids where the passage of the gaseous fluid through the stream of solids is likely to take particles of the solid matter beyond the louvres I3, and pro-- enclosed within the opposite runs of the conveyor, 1..

will afford a settling chamber disturbed only by the passage of the stream of gaseous fluid.

Fig. 3 is especially suited to conditions where the solid material is to repeat a particular circuit, and, of course, that material must be of such nature as to lend itself to the characteristics of the conveyor described, and to maintain the proper substantially uniform density for treatment at the right, or the elevating run, and a similar density on the return run.

Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate an arrangement where one treatment, or a preliminary stage of a treatment, is to be given in a horizontal run, and further treatment, or a different treatment, is to be given in the elevated run.

Other forms suitable for varying conditions are shown in the catalog and book referred to, and will be readily desgined by suppliers of such conveyors.

For brevity in the claim, I have used the term comminuted to describe the types of material being handled, and it is to be understood that 6 I intend by this term to cover not only powdered materials, but also materials which may be granular, in the form of small lumps, or flaky or fibrous in nature, or of any equivalent form suitable for handling by the conveyors disclosed herein.

I claim:

In apparatus for the continuous commingling of comminuted solids and gases for treatment one by the other, a conveyor, casing means arranged about said conveyor and defining the cross-section of a body of comminuted solids conveyed thereby, louvered apertures in walls of said casing defining gas inlet and exhaust passages directed at an angle into material carried by said conveyor, and a fixed baffle between said opposed Walls and adapted to extend into the material carried by said conveyor to define a circuitous path for gases traveling across said material.

WILLIAM J. ROWE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 992,295 Tiemann May 16, 1911 1,383,798 Gase July 5, 1921 1,787,878 Wardem-Stevens Jan. 6, 1931 1,880,284 Schenk Oct. 4, 1932 2,171,652 Haney Sept. 5, 1939 2,245,664 Gronert June 17, 1941 2,437,395 Magnusson et al. Mar. 9, 1948 2,443,180 Bergstrom June 18, 1948 7 2,444,990 Hemminger July 13, 1948 2,459,425 Hemminger Jan. 18, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 14,059 Sweden 1901 225,734

Germany Sept. 19, 1910 

